Hail, Caesar!, Deadpool, Where To Invade Next, Ingrid Bergman In her Own Words

Hail, Caesar!

This star studded story about the 1950s movie studio industry by the prolific Coen Brothers is visually impressive, moderately entertaining but ultimately disappointing.  Too much slap stick humor.  Often just plan silly.

The song and dance scene with Channing Tatum and the water dancing with Scarlett Johansson were high points.  Josh Brolin was one of the only believable characters as the Head of the Studio.  Ralph Finnnes made an good uppity Director.  To be fair, George Clooney, was a solid Clark Gable.

There was an attempt to make a statement about the Communist movement in Hollywood of the day that fell short and how that connected to the Nazi Submarine scene is still a puzzle.

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Deadpool

Oh My!  I don’t know where to begin.  There is a group of highly skilled special forces crowd that wager on each others life expectancy called the Deadpool.  Ryan Reynolds character is the top dog and meets his sexual match in a local bar and quickly fall in love.  Reynolds character suddenly develops a life threatening illness and desperately seeks a medical fix.

Reynolds discovers some underground group that promise a cure, but turns out to be some demented way of torturing its victims and results in horrid mutations but also super powers.

There are some interesting super hero scenes, some very good special effects and some of the dry humor was actually quite clever.  That said, there was also a fair amount of vulgarity simply for effect sake.  It is very violent, bloody and down right gross.

All that said, I must share, the IMAX theater was packed.  (We were the oldest people there by a long shot.)  It turns out Deadpool was the highest grossing R rated film to date.

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Where To Invade Next

This latest Michael Moore film is not what the title implies.  His “invasion” of countries like Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, and other countries is actually “harvesting” policy practices from these countries and bringing them to the USA as remedies for failed US practices.

The topics vary wildly but are mostly social related: School lunches, workplace benefits, make up of Corporate Board of Directors, college education, prison systems, racism, sexism and more.

I would argue this is the most relevant film Moore has produced yet.  It is a thought provoking examination of American standards and values that challenges American conventional standards of living.

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Ingrid Bergman In Her Own Words

This is a Swedish Biography/Documentary film about the life of actress Ingrid Bergman and her family, many of whom appear and contribute first hand experiences in the film.

It is a fascinating story told using a lifetime of carefully collected personal documents, extensive collection of original film clips and first hand testimonials from family and friends.

It shares the incredible acting success Ms. Bergman earned, the complicated history of three marriages, several children and the evolution of her passion for life.  Her life and impact on those around her is simply remarkable.

This is well worth seeking out.  It enjoys international critical acclaim.  It does not enjoy a broad distribution in the US.  It is well worth the effort to track this one down.

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